


Giving a Hand

by gemspegasus



Series: "Giving a Hand" [1]
Category: Castle, Magnificent Seven (TV)
Genre: Crossover, Gen, Gen Fic, Mag 7 ATF fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-03-11
Updated: 2011-03-11
Packaged: 2017-10-16 21:17:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,447
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/169446
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gemspegasus/pseuds/gemspegasus
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Detective Javier Esposito discovers a badly injured man in an alley.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Giving a Hand

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: Castle is owned by Andrew W. Marlowe and ABC. The Magnificent Seven belong to MGM, Mirisch, Trilogy and John Watson. Thank you to Mog for creating the ATF universe of ‘The Magnificent Seven.’ I'm only saddling them up for a 'ride' or 7.  
> No copyright infringement is intended and no money was made from this of course. Any similarity to any other story not my own is coincidence. This story is for entertainment purposes only.

Giving a Hand

 

Detective Javier Esposito jogged down the steps outside of the 12th precinct. A shark-like smile spread across his face as he thought of playing Madden against his partner Ryan later tonight. But first he needed to get munchies so they could snack on something while they played the sports game videogame. So instead of heading off to his right as he usually did, the homicide detective turned left toward the Mom and Pop grocery store on the corner across the street from the precinct. Whistling softly to himself, he strode briskly along the sidewalk, until he suddenly tripped. Looking down, a quick curse escaped his lips as he saw an outstretched bloody hand protruding from the shadows of the alley nestled between the precinct and the grocery story. Drawing his gun, Esposito stepped around the bloodied body and cautiously entered the alley. The detective’s eyes scanned the alley as he yelled out, “NYPD.”

The only answers to his shout was the screech of a cat crossing the alley and a loud pain-filled moan from the man at his feet. At the sound, Esposito whipped around and dropped into a crouch beside the man.

The homicide detective unclipped the walkie-talkie on his belt and radioed in that he quickly needed an ambulance at his location while he assessed the injured man.

“Caucasian male, thirties, has gunshot wounds to right leg and arm. Also beaten badly with bruises and contusions throughout what I can see of the body...” Esposito tailed off as the wounded man’s right hand clutched at the lapels of his jacket.

“No hospital. Not safe. Miscreants may try another attempt on my life. Call Chris,” muttered the man in a raspy voice before he collapsed boneless and unconscious against the detective.

Esposito rapidly checked for a pulse and breathed a sigh of relief when he found one. He stared down at the man as he waited for the EMTs to arrive. There was something familiar about this man but he couldn’t quite put his finger on it. He didn’t like the implications about what the man had said. He’d ride with him to the hospital.

Moments later the ambulance arrived at the mouth of the alley and two paramedics rushed to his side.

Javier jumped into the ambulance and the paramedic asked him who the man was. The detective thought fast on his feet and replied that the man was a witness to a crime and that he needed to question him as soon as he was coherent enough to respond. Esposito figured that was close enough to the truth from what the man had said before he lost consciousness. He did wonder who Chris was though.

The paramedics wheeled the gurney off the ambulance into the emergency room with Detective Javier Esposito right behind them.

Javier was so intent on the man strapped to the gurney he failed to watch where he was going and nearly ran straight into Richard Castle.

Castle’s exclamation of surprise halted Esposito a step shy from ramming into the writer.

“Whoa Esposito! Who’s hurt? Beckett? Ryan? Gates?”

Javier shook himself mentally and answered in the negative to Castle’s question. The detective responded that he had a probable witness who was hurt before asking what Castle was doing in the emergency room.

Richard Castle explained that he was waiting for his daughter, Alexis who sprained her ankle after she tripped on the stairs at home.

While the men waited in the waiting room, Castle spun all kinds of fantastical theories on whom their mystery witness might be.

During this time, Javier’s cell phone vibrated and he went outside to answer it. It was his partner, Kevin Ryan wondering where he was since he wasn’t at his apartment. Esposito explained where he was and why.

Ryan said he’d be right over and hung up before Javier could reply.

Javier shook his head fondly and returned inside to tell Castle that Kevin would be joining them shortly.

Sure enough, not fifteen minutes later, Kevin Ryan came into the hospital waiting room with a worried frown creasing his brow. He had just listened to the voice messages on his cell phone and there was one message that had him concerned. All his detective and police instincts were yelling at him. Ryan peppered his partner with questions about the man he’d found in the alley. Kevin had a growing suspicion of who the man could be.

Both Castle and Esposito immediately picked up on Ryan’s tenseness and anxiousness.

“All right, Ryan, spill it!” Javier said as Kevin began to pace in front of the window overlooking an outdoor garden.

Kevin stared at his partner for a minute and then spoke. “On my cell phone there was a truncated message from my cousin. It sounded like someone was shooting at him right before the message cut off. He’s a fed with the ATF…a damn good one. And the wounded man you brought in sounds like he fits Ezra’s description. Plus his team leader’s name is Chris.”

Esposito looked back at his partner, his stomach muscles clenching and tightening in dread. It had just hit him that that was why the injured man in the alley looked familiar. He looked a lot like Ryan. Only Ryan had blue eyes while this Ezra had light green eyes and was a little older than Ryan.

Kevin read his partner’s eyes and suddenly boneless sank into the nearest plastic chair.

“You think the man is Ezra. Don’t you?” Ryan asked Esposito.

Javier nodded as a doctor came out of the emergency room doors and walked over to them.

“Are you here for the John Doe found in the alley?” The doctor asked.

The three men nodded and then Castle shook his head sheepishly as Alexis came hobbling out of the emergency room on crutches.

Castle took his leave of the detectives with firm instructions to call him if they needed anything before he and Alexis left the hospital.

The doctor then told Esposito and Ryan about the patient’s injuries.

Ryan was chomping at the bit to see the patient. He needed to know if it was his cousin, Ezra Standish who was injured. If it was Ezra, Ezra was in danger and needed to be protected, especially if Ezra was undercover. Kevin would also need to get in touch with Chris Larabee. A small shudder rippled up Kevin’s spine at the thought. He didn’t know Larabee personally but he knew Larabee’s reputation. And he didn’t relish the thought of telling the ATF team leader that one of his men was hurt.

Finally, the doctor said they could go in and see the patient but not to ask him any questions because the patient was not up to it at the moment.

Both Esposito and Ryan nodded and then followed the doctor back through the doors of the emergency room before the trio split off into different directions. The two detectives headed up to ICU while the doctor headed off to the surgical floor of the hospital.

The two detectives were mostly silent on the elevator ride up to the floor and in their walk up to the room. Both men came to a standstill outside the clear-pane window of the patient’s room.

Kevin Ryan sucked in a breath.

The injured man was Ezra.

Ryan squared his shoulders, took another deep breath and strode into the hospital room.

Ezra was sleeping. Bruises and cuts colored Ezra’s pale features. An IV drip was attached to his right arm. He also had on an oxygen mask which was helping him breathe easier due to a couple of broken ribs. And he had various other machines hooked up to his body.

“Is he your cousin?” Esposito whispered the question as he came further into the room and glanced down at the man in the bed.

His partner replied with a gruff, “yes.”

Javier clapped a hand on his friend’s shoulder and squeezed once in reassurance.

Ryan’s hand lifted and patted Esposito’s hand in thanks for the support he offered.

Esposito smiled and then strode around the bed to the other side to sit in the chair there as he settled in for a long vigil with his partner and friend.

Kevin Ryan thought of all the times his cousin Ezra had taken care of him over the years. Now it was his turn to take care of Ezra. He sat down in the armchair next to the bed and whispered, “I’m here, Ezra. Ry’s here. And I am going to take care of you for a change, Okay? ” He then clasped Ezra’s left hand and held it firm.

 

The End


End file.
